With the start of the college football season, one of the most important weeks of the year in the sporting world, another event is taking the stage to determine the best of the best. Instead of battling on the gridiron, these competitors are gearing up for PAX Prime’s Halo 2 Anniversary Tournament. Highlighted by $10,000 in prizes, you can expect to see some of the world’s finest professional Halo competitors battle it out as they all have something to prove.

For those unfamiliar with Penny Arcade’s annual event, PAX Prime is a yearly convention relating to all things gaming. Since 2004, PAX Prime has evolved from a small, 4,500-person event in Bellevue, Washington, to now bringing in tens of thousands of attendees each year, and spawning new iterations of PAX across the country and even internationally. In a partnership with the recently acquired Twitch, the mayhem can be witnessed on Halo’s official channel.

Releasing this fall on Xbox One, Halo:The Master Chief Collection features a remastered version of Halo 2 that will take center stage. Teams qualified for the PAX Prime showdown this past Friday, bringing the top eight teams to the final rounds of play on Saturday and Sunday to determine a sole champion.

The Saturday slate is packed; action began at 11:00AM with the Halo: The Master Chief Collection Panel. Halo developers from 343 Industries spoke in depth about the upcoming release and the future of the Halo franchise. Hitting shelves on November 11th, Halo: The Master Chief Collection will feature all four of the main titles in the Halo franchise, accompanied by every multiplayer map. As if that weren’t enough, owners of the game will be treated to the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta.

The main event began at noon and is running through 6PM PST. The atmosphere is electric as we’re already a few hours into the action, which is proving early to test each team’s gumption. The tournament features eight of the world’s best teams, including:

TCM

TFG

Excellence

USA

Triggers Down

Reality Check

VWS

Darkest Hour

In action today we’ve already seen TCM defeat TFG to advance to the next round of play, set to battle Team Excellence who just eliminated Team USA. TCM looked sharp in the first matchup, sweeping TFG in three rounds that featured fan favorite Halo map Lockout, Capture the Flag on Sanctuary, and a round of King of the Hill back on Lockout. Next up, Team Excellence showcased their fundamentals against the upset minded Team USA, also in a three round sweep. Coming up we will witness Trigger’s Down throw down with Reality Check, and VWS go toe-to-toe with Darkest Hour.

TCM

TFG

USA

Excellence

There is still a lot of Halo to be played and it’s still anyone’s tournament. With so much talent in one location, no one wants to leave anything out on the map. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for the finals, beginning at 11AM PST, with the grand finals kicking off at 4PM. Don’t miss the best of the best Halo players battling it out for bragging rights, and more importantly, the $5,000 grand prize.

Who do you think will win? What excites you most about the upcoming release of Halo 2: Anniversary in the Master Chief Collection?

Sean Winnett is a Marketing and Public Relations professional based in Boise, Idaho. He is also a video game journalist covering everything from gaming industry news to video game reviews and eSporting coverage. He received his degree in Mass Communication & Journalism from Boise State University in 2010, and has spent time working for some of the largest Marketing, Advertising & PR agencies in the Pacific Northwest. In addition to gaming, Sean is a diehard fan of College Football and spends his free time playing guitar, acting as the commissioner of a college football fantasy league and keeping up with his favorite TV shows (Doctor Who, The League, & The Walking Dead).